Land use changes coming too fast
To the editor;
I come to the citizens of Cape Coral today with a heavy heart. It seems as though our rights as homeowners of this fair city, have once again been trampled upon. Our illustrious Planning and Zoning Committee members are pushing through their agenda, proposals for zoning changes to 31 different areas of our city, so as to comply with some ideal they have of us needing to replicate the cities of much greater populations.
Many citizens were mailed letters with maps of the proposed changes, and given, at best, two weeks to make an informed decision on their thoughts concerning these changes. We have less than two weeks before the City Council meets to accept or refute the recommendations of this committee. Though I applaud the committee’s diligence in wanting to have these changes set into place prior to the November election; they CANNOT expect the citizens to make such hasty decisions.
Many of us have spent many years purchasing homes and making them our own. We have planned our lives well into the future with our current homes being our security. Many of the committee members and some of the audience seem to think that we, as a community, do not wish to have this “sleepy little bedroom community.” I, for one, have found great solace in knowing that where I chose to purchase my home and where I chose to raise my children is EXACTLY where I wanted to be. Should I have sought to have my home surrounded by mass commercial structures, I would have purchased in locations already wrought with commercial property.
At the start of this meeting on Wednesday March 3, Mr. McCord asked of an audience member who was voicing her concerns: “Wouldn’t you like to have a grocery store that is only two blocks away?” The simple answer to that is NO for most people. We, as a people, enjoy having conveniences located close to our homes, but not in our faces. We like being able to come from our work site and stopping by the local grocery store for our needs. But we do not want to walk out of our back door and see the semi trucks unloading our goods.
I do not believe that any person that lives full-time in Cape Coral, and probably most of our winter residents feel that Planning and Zoning Staff and Commissioners have given us a fair deal. We are asking to be heard, and we are also asking that if you are really serious about wanting the residents of Cape Coral to give their input, then you need to find a way to deal with all of us. Send a mass mailing to ALL Cape Coral residents with a map locating ALL of the proposed properties. You may also want to place throughout the community, large-scale maps identifying these proposals. Leave these maps visible for a few months; let us determine if this is something that we can deal with. Concessions will have to be made.
The commissioners have given the residents only three minutes to stand before them and state their case. These board members have had months, maybe even years to consider these proposals, and some of these board members did not even listen when a homeowner was speaking. I felt embarrassed for them. How could they sit in their commissioned chairs, casting votes on properties, and not even be courteous enough to not only hold eye contact with the person, but to not even listen to any part of their plea.
The meeting for these proposed zoning changes concluded Friday, March 5. And much to my dismay, the board allowed most of these proposals to pass through with little or no changes to them. How disheartening. I am certain that the Planning and Zoning Staff worked very hard to come up with what they had, but they did not have to consider the people and their livelihoods.
I ask now that ALL citizens of Cape Coral, be you full-time resident or winter resident, stand up for your rights as a homeowner. Be at the council meetings. We will be heard.
Some of these board members need to step down as they have become complacent in their opinions and ideals. We need fresh faces and fresh concerns for our ever growing community. Remember the old saying: “If you are not part of the solution, then you’re only part of the problem.” Let us plan our community with ideas that make sense, not just plan out of convenience.
Wendy Burns
Cape Coral